Photo Museum Ireland is proud to tour The Memories of Others — our landmark exhibition on the Irish work of Japanese war photographer Akihiko Okamura — now on view at the Ulster Museum, Belfast, until 4 January 2026.
From the late 1960s to the early 1980s, Okamura (1929–1985) created a powerful and largely unseen body of work in Ireland. Having covered the Vietnam War, he first came here in 1968 drawn by JFK’s ancestral connection, then moved with his family in 1969. He remained until his sudden passing in 1985. During those years, he photographed the conflict in the North and the rhythms of family life in the South.
What makes Okamura’s work so singular is his decision to stay. Unlike the many international photographers who briefly passed through Ireland, Okamura embedded himself — living the life he documented. This intimacy gave rise to a new way of seeing the Troubles: not only stark images of conflict, but also poetic, ethereal glimpses of everyday life, of resilience and moments of quiet amid unrest.
The Ulster Museum’s presentation, unveiled during Belfast Photo Festival, offers a new curation of this extraordinary body of work. The exhibition was developed through years of research and collaboration by Photo Museum Ireland and curators Pauline Vermare, Seán O’Hagan, Masako Toda, Brendan Maher and Trish Lambe, in partnership with the Estate of Akihiko Okamura.
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Photo Museum Ireland had the privilege of premiering this programme in Dublin in 2024, presenting not only the first major exhibition of Okamura’s Irish work, but also a documentary film and a landmark publication. The project included the careful digitisation of Okamura’s archive, undertaken to the highest standards in our Digital Studio, ensuring these images can be safeguarded and shared with future generations. The Estate of Okamura have generously donated a set of prints to The Photo Museum Ireland Collection.
The accompanying photobook, The Memories of Others (Atelier EXB / Prestel, €58), edited by Pauline Vermare with texts by Vermare, Seán O’Hagan, Masako Toda, Trish Lambe and Kusi Okamura, is available now from our online bookshop. Richly illustrated and critically engaged, it is the first publication dedicated to Okamura’s Irish work.
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As Curator Pauline Vermare asks:
“Why was he so tied to a history that was not his own, and to the memories of others?”
This mystery only deepens the power of his work, offering us a rare vision of Ireland through the eyes of an artist who made it his home.
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